By Lyle Fitzsimmons - In its computerized rankings for April, the International Boxing Organization slots Antonio Tarver – the reigning IBO champion – at No. 4 among belt-holders in the 200-pound weight class.

But not surprisingly, the 43-year-old Floridian, never one to shy away from a perfectly good microphone, has a different opinion when it comes to his true standing among the heavyweights.

And he’s not just referring to the heavyweights of the cruiserweight division.

No… he means the real heavyweights.

You know, the 250-pound Klitschko kind.

More specifically, Mssrs. Wladimir and Vitali.

“The best way for them to beat me is not to fight me,” Tarver told BoxingScene.com, showing zero trace of the modesty so rarely present in his professional aura. “I can punch hard and punch fast. In combinations. And they ain’t used to anybody like that.

“Remember, I don’t talk the talk, I walk the walk. And I’ll back it up, or die trying.”

It’s a prodigious verbal gauntlet for a fighter who, amid an uninspiring 3-3 stretch just a few years back, looked every bit the part of a guy who’d issued his last wordy challenge. [Click Here To Read More]